Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Game After Supper" by Margaret Atwood transports the reader to a bygone era, capturing a moment steeped in nostalgia, mystery, and a subtle undercurrent of unease. Through the setting of a rural, pre-electrical household and its surroundings, Atwood weaves a narrative that blends childhood play with elements of the supernatural and the foreboding.

The poem opens with a vivid depiction of a scene "before electricity," a time when porches were common places of rest and observation. The image of an old man rocking on a "sagging porch" of a "wooden and grey" house sets a tone of decay and the passage of time. The anticipation of the woman lighting the kerosene lamp inside the house, a place that smells of "smoke and mildew," further establishes the setting as one that is fading, imbued with the remnants of the past.

Atwood then shifts the focus away from the domestic spaces of the barn and the neglected orchard, leading the reader to the speaker's location in the "long grass" alongside "two dead cousins." This sudden introduction of death and the ghostly presence of the cousins create a chilling turn in the poem, transforming a seemingly innocent setting into one of haunting and hidden stories. The "membrane grown already / across their throats" suggests a passage of time since their deaths, adding to the eerie atmosphere.

The children, alive and dead, hiding together, hear the natural sounds of crickets and the intense sound of their own hearts. Their giggling, juxtaposed with their fear, captures the complex emotions of childhood games that often flirt with danger and the thrill of being found. However, in this context, the stakes are heightened by the spectral company they keep.

The poem culminates with the approach of a "tall man" coming from "the shadows around / the corner of the house," introducing a sense of imminent discovery or confrontation. The final lines, "He will be an uncle, / if we are lucky," are laden with ambiguity and suggest a potential threat or salvation depending on the identity of the approaching figure. This uncertainty leaves the reader pondering the nature of the game and the true intentions of the adult world encroaching on the children's play.

"Game After Supper" masterfully blends the innocence of childhood games with the darkness of family secrets and the supernatural. Atwood's use of vivid imagery, the setting's rustic decay, and the juxtaposition of life and death create a palpable tension that resonates with the reader. The poem speaks to the universal themes of memory, the passage of time, and the thin veil between the living and the dead, all while capturing a moment frozen in time on a dimming, pastoral landscape.

Copyright (c) 2025 PoetryExplorer

Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!

Other Poems of Interest...